§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are used to decide which prisoners should serve their sentence in Ford Open Prison. [86711]
§ Mr. George HowarthFord prison is an open prison and accepts adult male category D prisoners. The current arrangements for the categorisation and allocation of adult male prisoners are set out in chapter 7 of Prison Service Order 2200, a copy of which is available in the Library.
Allocation criteria for individual establishments are agreed between the area manager and the governor of the prison. They vary according to local circumstances. The criteria for acceptance at Ford prison are listed as follows:
There is no maximum sentence length, but prisoners must be within three years of their parole eligibility date;prisoners serving a sentence for a sex offence or an offence of arson will not be accepted;prisoners serving sentences for violent offences will be accepted only on progressive moves from closed establishments, and where their conduct during their sentence has indicated their suitability;prisoners should have no history of escape or abscond, and no failure on temporary release in the previous three years; andprisoners will not be accepted if they require full time medical care. They should be fit for most forms of work.